Billie the Vampire
Oops
“Dad?” Joey asked.
“Hmm?” Billie Joe said, in the middle of cutting up a tomato to put into a salad. He had gotten back home from Nathaniel’s a few hours ago.
“You’ve seemed…different lately. Ever since you were attacked backstage.”
All of Billie Joe’s attention shifted to his son.
“I mean, you just feel…different,” Joey tried to explain.
Not paying any attention, Billie cut one of his fingers with the knife. He tensed, watching as his blood blended in with the tomato. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Joey open his mouth to offer to get a band-aid. Then the cut healed instantly. ‘Shit,’ Billie thought.
There was a moment of silence as they both just stood completely still.
“Didn’t…didn’t you just cut yourself?” Joey finally managed to ask.
Billie Joe remained silent, still staring down at the tomato.
“Dad…?”
Slowly, Billie Joe turned around. First his eyes were cast down, but then he raised them to look his son full in the eyes. “Joey… I’m… a vampire.”
Starting with a look of incomprehension before moving onto surprise, Joey ended with a hint of fear in his eyes. The look was painful for Billie Joe to see. His own son was now scared of him.
“Did… Did you…?” Joey asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Billie knew what his son wanted to ask. He looked down now, feeling overly exposed with his son knowing his secret and reacting to it this way. “One, when I first woke up… And then I bit another that I didn’t end up killing, but a vampire slayer ended up doing that later.”
A sudden change overcame Joey’s face, switching his eyes now filled with concern and a different kind of fear. “There’s a vampire slayer?”
“Yeah-“ Billie Joe started before being cut off by Joey.
“Does that mean you’re being hunted?”
His last encounter he had had with Selena flashed in his mind. “Yeah…”
“Dad…are you going to be killed?” Joey asked in a quiet whisper, terror in his eyes.
“I don’t think so. I think I can keep away from her if I don’t attack any more people, which I intend to do.” Even though he wasn’t sure if what he said would hold true, Billie just wanted to reassure his son though he was still caught off guard by the sudden change in the situation. As painful and hard as it was to ask, he did, “Aren’t you scared of me?”
Joey didn’t answer right away and Billie felt sick in the stomach over the anticipation and suspense. “No,” Joey finally answered. When Billie Joe opened his mouth to speak, he elaborated further. “I’m not scared of you. You’re my dad, after all and you don’t seem like you’re a monster or something right now. I don’t really know how I feel about the fact that you killed someone, but… it’s not your fault you’re a vampire? I don’t know what it was like when you first woke up, but you haven’t killed anybody else since. So, basically, I believe in you Dad. I believe that you’re still my dad and that you won’t kill anyone else.”
For a second Billie just stood there while his brain processed everything his son had just said. Then it sank in. Before he could say anything, Joey hugged him.
‘I believe in you, Dad.’ The sentence rang in Billie’s head, lifting his spirits and strengthening his resolve.
* * *
That night, before he went to sleep, Billie Joe opened up the book to a random page, determined to at least read one section. He ended up on a page with a section titled Vampire Eyes.
Besides being the person’s natural eye color, a vampire’s eyes can also change to either red or white depending on mood. A vampire’s eyes turn red when they are angry while if they are afraid they turn white. Their eyes also turn white when they use a form of hypnosis that is generally effective on humans. Depending on how powerful a vampire is, the hypnotism can also work on other vampires.
A vampire’s eyes are one of two things that can be preserved, the other being their fangs. If a vampire eye is preserved, it is in its hypnosis state. Sometimes a vampire slayer may preserve one for their own use as they know how to do so in order to aid with their human aspect of their job by covering up a situation or by getting information.
“Hmm?” Billie Joe said, in the middle of cutting up a tomato to put into a salad. He had gotten back home from Nathaniel’s a few hours ago.
“You’ve seemed…different lately. Ever since you were attacked backstage.”
All of Billie Joe’s attention shifted to his son.
“I mean, you just feel…different,” Joey tried to explain.
Not paying any attention, Billie cut one of his fingers with the knife. He tensed, watching as his blood blended in with the tomato. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Joey open his mouth to offer to get a band-aid. Then the cut healed instantly. ‘Shit,’ Billie thought.
There was a moment of silence as they both just stood completely still.
“Didn’t…didn’t you just cut yourself?” Joey finally managed to ask.
Billie Joe remained silent, still staring down at the tomato.
“Dad…?”
Slowly, Billie Joe turned around. First his eyes were cast down, but then he raised them to look his son full in the eyes. “Joey… I’m… a vampire.”
Starting with a look of incomprehension before moving onto surprise, Joey ended with a hint of fear in his eyes. The look was painful for Billie Joe to see. His own son was now scared of him.
“Did… Did you…?” Joey asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Billie knew what his son wanted to ask. He looked down now, feeling overly exposed with his son knowing his secret and reacting to it this way. “One, when I first woke up… And then I bit another that I didn’t end up killing, but a vampire slayer ended up doing that later.”
A sudden change overcame Joey’s face, switching his eyes now filled with concern and a different kind of fear. “There’s a vampire slayer?”
“Yeah-“ Billie Joe started before being cut off by Joey.
“Does that mean you’re being hunted?”
His last encounter he had had with Selena flashed in his mind. “Yeah…”
“Dad…are you going to be killed?” Joey asked in a quiet whisper, terror in his eyes.
“I don’t think so. I think I can keep away from her if I don’t attack any more people, which I intend to do.” Even though he wasn’t sure if what he said would hold true, Billie just wanted to reassure his son though he was still caught off guard by the sudden change in the situation. As painful and hard as it was to ask, he did, “Aren’t you scared of me?”
Joey didn’t answer right away and Billie felt sick in the stomach over the anticipation and suspense. “No,” Joey finally answered. When Billie Joe opened his mouth to speak, he elaborated further. “I’m not scared of you. You’re my dad, after all and you don’t seem like you’re a monster or something right now. I don’t really know how I feel about the fact that you killed someone, but… it’s not your fault you’re a vampire? I don’t know what it was like when you first woke up, but you haven’t killed anybody else since. So, basically, I believe in you Dad. I believe that you’re still my dad and that you won’t kill anyone else.”
For a second Billie just stood there while his brain processed everything his son had just said. Then it sank in. Before he could say anything, Joey hugged him.
‘I believe in you, Dad.’ The sentence rang in Billie’s head, lifting his spirits and strengthening his resolve.
* * *
That night, before he went to sleep, Billie Joe opened up the book to a random page, determined to at least read one section. He ended up on a page with a section titled Vampire Eyes.
Besides being the person’s natural eye color, a vampire’s eyes can also change to either red or white depending on mood. A vampire’s eyes turn red when they are angry while if they are afraid they turn white. Their eyes also turn white when they use a form of hypnosis that is generally effective on humans. Depending on how powerful a vampire is, the hypnotism can also work on other vampires.
A vampire’s eyes are one of two things that can be preserved, the other being their fangs. If a vampire eye is preserved, it is in its hypnosis state. Sometimes a vampire slayer may preserve one for their own use as they know how to do so in order to aid with their human aspect of their job by covering up a situation or by getting information.